News Broadcasting
TV9 targets September-October launch of Kannada news channel
MUMBAI: TV9, the Hyderabad-based media firm promoted by venture fund i-Labs Associated Fund and Chennai-based Unify Wealth Management, is all set to enter the Kannada market with a news channel. TV9 Kannada is aimed at a September-October launch.
“TV9 is all set to launch its news channel in the Kannada market. We are tentatively targeting a launch date within the September-October period. The dry run is already on,” says TV9 Kannada director Mahendra Mishra. TV9 already runs TV9 Telugu, a news channel in the Telugu language.
TV9 Kannada will be joining Sun Network’s Udaya News, the only other news channel in the market. And the timing of the launch will be very crucial for the channel, since the Rs 2 billion market is also awaiting the launch of Kannada Kasturi, the infotainment channel promoted by the Bangalore-based Kasturi Media Pvt Ltd (KMPL). Kannada Kasturi is targeting a November launch.
TV9 Kannada will be following a ‘market expansion strategy’ rather than setting up head-on collision situations with the rival channels. “Our plan is to expand the market further. We are looking at building a new market. News as a genre in Kannada hasn’t been really explored by the existing players as yet. Our effort will be to fill this vacuum with a very different kind of programming,” Mishra says.
TV9 is projecting the Kannada channel as “Kannada’s national channel”. “The plan is to give Kannadigas a national channel, which speaks their language. We will be raising the bar in Karnataka, by bringing in the national standards and quality of news coverage and presentation. Our focus will be on local-oriented news, but the packaging will be completely of national standards,” Mishra explains the strategy.
The free-to-air channel will have the retail advertiser segment playing a crucial role in its plans, Mishra adds. “Retail advertising is a huge area of activity in Karnataka. It is really booming and we will be exploring this segment to the fullest.”
The otherwise sleepy Kannada television market is expected to witness a lot of action this year with the entry of TV9 Kannada and Kannada Kasturi. The proceedings have already been kicked off by Zee Telefilms, which launched its entertainment channel Zee Kannada in May this year.
Says Zee Kannada business head Venkat Giridhar on the key learnings the channel had in this three-month period: “Unlike any other South market, Kannada is open to all the other languages, whether it is Hindi, English, Tamil or Malayalam. Hence, it is kind of a complicate market for a new entrant. Our effort has been to educate the viewer on genres other than films and soaps. We are going ahead with our plans and will be launching a lot of new programmes which would fit into categories such as talent hunts and reality shows in the coming days.”
News Broadcasting
Mihir Bhatt appointed as chief content officer at News18 Studios
The media veteran brings two decades of experience across television, digital and radio to one of India’s biggest broadcast networks, Disney+ Hotstar, Discovery+
NEW DELHI: Network18 has a new strategist in the building. Mihir Bhatt, one of Indian media’s more versatile operators, has joined News18 Studios as chief content officer, stepping into a role that will see him shape content strategy, build multi-platform properties and drive brand partnerships across the network.
Bhatt brings more than two decades of experience spanning television, digital and radio, with a track record of doing something rare in Indian media: combining editorial ambition with hard commercial results. At Times Network, where he served as managing editor and chief business officer of Times Influence, he built one of the industry’s more respected content studios, launching marquee properties such as the India Economic Conclave, the Times Now Summit and Leaders of Tomorrow. He also pushed the network into premium OTT territory through tie-ups with Disney+ Hotstar and Discovery+.
His resume stretches well beyond the studio. Bhatt has led Global Investor Summits for multiple state governments, worked alongside the World Economic Forum and played a pivotal role in launching the Indian Pickleball League. Earlier, as editor of Zee Business, he pioneered investor education initiatives that are still cited as industry benchmarks.
At News18 Studios, Bhatt will report to chief executive S Shivakumar and will oversee the studios execution vertical alongside revenue verticals covering emerging markets and campaigns. Sidharth Saini, Hemanth Kumar and Nimar Sarkaria will work under him.
Rahul Joshi, managing director and editor-in-chief of Network18 Group, made the announcement in an internal communication. “Mihir’s ability to build enduring brands, foster strategic partnerships and navigate a rapidly evolving media landscape will be instrumental as we continue to strengthen our position and explore new avenues of growth in the Studios business,” Joshi said.
In a media industry lurching between disruption and reinvention, Network18 has bet on a man who has spent two decades thriving in exactly that chaos. Whether he can do it again, at greater scale, is the question worth watching.
